'Stargardt's hasn't stopped me from doing anything'

Abby Kane, who is just 13, was the youngest member of Team GB at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.

She enjoyed great success, winning the silver medal in the women’s S13 100m backstroke event.

Abby was spurred on to learn to swim after a family holiday to Australia when she was six. On the trip her brother, Fraser, went on all the water park rides but
Abby couldn’t as she didn’t know how to swim. On her return she started swimming lessons and began swimming competitively just a year later.

Abby and Fraser both have Stargardt’s disease. Abby said: “I’ve noticed the biggest difference in my vision over the last two years, but it’s not something that bothers me. Stargardt’s hasn’t stopped me from doing anything, in fact it’s given me lots of opportunities, especially with my swimming.”

The full story appears in our winter Sideview magazine, available to our members.